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36 • July/August 2022 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com DESIGN / THE BIG PICTURE Navigating sourcing disruptions in this time of global uncertainty is daunting. We asked textile execs from Concept III, MMI Textiles, Polartec, PrimaLo, Standard Fiber and Unifi to weigh in on two key questions addressing the current supply chain situation: Q1: "Does the current situation signal the end of globalization? Agree or disagree?" Q2: "With supply chain uncertainty likely to remain the norm for the foreseeable future, how are you planning for unanticipated supply chain challenges in the year ahead? Please offer one strategy under consideration." eir responses solidify two key themes: Globalization is staying put, however, slight changes are in the wind, especially when it comes to production in China. Whether this will accelerate near-shoring is debatable. It's clear that supply chain is a hot button issue with companies preparing, planning and map- ping out ways to stay on top of inventory and customer relationships, while all the while remaining flexible. What Execs Are Saying About Globalization Ste ve L ay ton , Pre si d ent , Po l ar te c : "Globalization isn't ending. But it's shiing. Most of these changes have been percolating under the surface for quite some time, it just took the stress of these combined events to initiate at a larger scale. ere have always been many variables to the value equation: product features, cost, brand, etc. e global events have now placed a higher importance on the 'security' side of the equation that had largely been taken for granted the last decade, but the other variables will still play a role in the decision-making process." Amy Bircher, CEO, MMI Textiles: "I disagree that the current situation signals an end to glo- balization. Sure it has caused many businesses to look at reshoring or near shoring versus production in China, but the reality is that the labor issues and supply chain constraints are affecting the ability to do this. I think there will be a strong push for looking at supply outside of China for many reasons that were emphasized when the pandemic occurred." Mike Joyce, CEO, PrimaLo:"Generally speak- ing, we are actually seeing a bit of expansion of globalization. With over 950 brand partners, we have a good indication of where brands are producing garments. While there does seem to be a level of repatriation of production back into Europe, overall, the capacity is still global. Looking at the U.S., we are not seeing much movement back to the States for production." S andy Gr ay, CEO, Standard Fib er : "Globalization in textiles is not going away, but instead, we're now experiencing a shi towards regionalization rather than globalization, partic- ularly in the production of final consumer goods. is is partially due to increasing nationalist politics in some countries, but more importantly, COVID's earthquake on global supply chains (with continuing aershocks) has shown that just-in-time inventories and deliveries are unre- liably fragile. As with all paradigm shis caused by COVID (like work-from-home), this is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Companies are building in optionality and flexibility to their supply chains to handle uncertainties and in- creased speed-to-market (decreasing risks and creating capabilities to fulfill quickly shiing customer demand). No longer is the cheapest 'price' the only consideration in establishing textile supply chains." Chris Parkes, President, Concept III: "Globalization is being tweaked. What Russia is doing makes you think about what could happen elsewhere, and the price of things skyrocketing. Yes, people worry about China and are looking to leave China. But the fabric business will remain there." What Execs Are Saying About Supply Chain Strategies Jay Hertwig, SVP Commercialization, Unifi "We are investing in our business to prepare for regional growth. New texturing technology is currently being installed across our Americas production facilities that will increase our pro- duction capabilities over the next 1-2 years. In the U.S., we are working to attract and maintain labor with new compensation/benefits programs as well as new training facilities for employee onboarding." Mike Joyce, CEO, PrimaLo:"From a general freight perspective, we are anticipating that the shipment delays will last for the next 18 months, and we are planning accordingly. We have im- plemented an inventory strategy that ensures we have enough material onsite to buffer any delays, and that approach will continue. e issue that will be more difficult to manage is the COVID lockdowns happening in China. If the current COVID response strategy for the region remains in place, we anticipate facing similar disruptions each year during fall and winter, and will need to plan ahead." Chris Parkes, President, Concept III: "Partnerships are more important now. Over the years we've invested so much in our partners, particularly with environmental updates, that a trust factor is well established. Also, today's supply chain situation is a universal problem. People want lower prices, where will you find it? And everyone understands these problems because everyone is dealing with the challenges." Amy Bircher, CEO, MMI Textiles: "is may seem like common sense, but now more than ever companies need to get very strategic with both their supply base and their customers. Planning sessions should be happening much more frequently than they have before and all companies should be prepared to take on more inventory in order to be in front of the ongoing problems. We are looking at alternative products that are 'easier' to get and provide a better cost point for our customer. During these times, customers really appreciate when you can come to them with a solution versus 'well, here is another price increase.'" Sandy Gray, CEO, Standard Fiberv: "In 2021 we initiated a plan to add home textile manufacturing in North America with two objectives: reduce freight factors on bulky filled products (like pil- lows and dog beds) and provide our customers fast-response (30-day delivery) on customized cut/sewn/printed home textile products. With these investments in three manufacturing facilities coming online in 2022, we will continue to utilize low-cost Asian fabrics and raw materials, while adding fast-response fulfillment and customi- zation to optimize costs, risks and speed for our full range of North American manufacturing, distribution and retail customers." n • HOT TOPIC: SUPPLY CHAIN

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